Vacuum cleaner attachment



O. A. ROSS sept. 1o, 1940.

CLEANER ATTACHMENT VACUUM Filed May 14, 1936 INVENTOR @mwa/2.

Patented Sept. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES VACUUM CLEANER ATTACHMENT Y oscar A. Ross, New york, N. Y.

Application May 14, 1936, Serial No. 79,802

. 7 claims. (c1. isf- 155)Y This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly to attachments employed in -connection therewith for collecting foreign matter by suction and particularly that class of attachment employed for cleaning rugs, draperies,

etc.

Vacuum cleaner attachments now employed for the cleaning Vof rugs, draperies, etc. are made yof metal or other hard substance and when eml0 ployed for cleaning purposes great care must be exercised to prevent the accidental striking of furniture, 'baseboards, walls or otherhighly nished surfaces with said attachments otherwise scratches or other undesirable marks or blemishes will occur. This undue care places an undue strain on the person doing the cleaning and careless persons will cause an undue expense due to the necessity of re-flnishing said furniture and other highly finished surfaces.

M This invention comprehends the furnishing of a vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning rugs, draperies, etc. which will prevent the marring or blemishing of highly finished surfaces on furniture or other surfaces should said attachments accidentally'come in contact therewith,

this advantage being accomplished by embedding a rigid frame or support in a resilient plastic housing whereby the exterior or exposed surfaces c said attachmentare rpliable and therefore yield when moved into contact with said highly finished surfaces.'

The invention further comprehends the furnishing of-an attachment havinga resilient exterior surface, however also having the suction nozzle portion formed of hard material for the purpose of reducing friction between said nozzle and the surface being cleaned.

The invention further comprehends novel and peculiar modes of quickly and detachably coupling said attachments to the rigid extension or pipes to which said attachments are generally coupled and further comprehends a novel form of rigid extension or pipe having a resilient exterior surface-whereby accidental striking thereof againstvhighly finished surfaces of furniture or. other furnishings or fixtures will prevent marring or blemishing the same.

Other novel features and advantages will be apparent as the description of the invention progresses and the novel and peculiar structure and features thereof'will be pointed out herein. and wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of one embodiment of the invention taken on line I-I of Fig. 2, and Fig. 2 is a 'sectional view of the same taken on line 2-2 of Fig. I, and Fig. 3 is a plan View of the same taken on line 3 4, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of a modifled form of attachment wherein a modified form vof frame or rigid support is shown embedded r in the resilient housing, and Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the same taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view showing how the resilient material is interlocked to the fabricated metal frame, and Fig.l I is a l0 part sectional view of a modified form of attachment outlet, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view of still another modified outlet taken on line `8--8 of Fig. 9, and Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the same taken on line .9,-9 of Fig. 8, and Fig. l5 10 is a side elevational view of an assembly including an attachment and extension tube therefor, and Fig. 11 is a plan view of a modified nozzle frame.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6 attachment I, 20`

suitable for the cleaning of rugs, draperies, etc. comprises a frame or rigid support having air" and dust outlet portion 2 formed by the juncture of .semi-tubular stampings 3 and 'l welded at 5, said stamping having extensions 6 and 1 26 secured to nozzle housing reinforcing plates or stampings 8 and 9 in any suitable manner, as for example by spot welds I0. The dust and air outlet portion 2 is arranged to receive a con\ ventional extension tube, or may receive the tube 30 5I shown in Fig.' 10. Stampings or plate members 8 and 9, of similar form include clip or hinge portions II bentover reinforcing bail or slot shaped framev wire I2 formed from a straight length of wire having exposed portions I3 be 35 tween said hinge portions. vSaid frame and hinge portions formvthe suction inlet I5 of said attachment, the spaces I6 between said hinged portions forming bleeder inlets to prevent said attachment from becoming locked to the lsurface o being cleaned. l

The outlet members :iv and l, nozzle plates 8 and 9 and slot shaped frame I2 form a rigid fabricated frame-like structure or skeleton support over which a resilient cover I1 is'molded 45 and interlocked against removal, said cover may be molded of soft vulcanized rubber, or other plastic material and comprises a cylindrical outlet portion I8, the upper or open end of which surrounds the upper end portion I9 of members 50 3 and 4 providing an annulus having a coupling face 2i) arranged to-engage the tubular extension 5I (Fig. 10.) to which said' attachment I is coupled for cleaning purposes, in this manner providing a resilient coupling engagement between `said attachment and extension. Molded cover or housing I1 further comprises suction nozzle portion 2I havingside-walls 22 interlocked to plates 8 and 9 in openings 23, said side-walls being connected by an arched portion 24. Said cover or housing further includes a bead portion interlocked with hinge portions II and I2 as shown in Fig. 6, said bead portion acting as a buffer in the event attachment I accidentally engages highly finished surfaces of fur'niture or other fixtures during the use thereof for cleaning purposes.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 showing a modied form of the invention, attachment includes an interior metal` housing 3| which may be a unitary structure comprising a casting or stamping having a hard surface suction inlet portion and an outlet portion 32 arranged to receive an extension, as for example,` extension 52 of Fig. l0. Suction inlet portion 35 includes a hard surface rubbing face or nozzle portion 35 arranged to engage the surface to be cleaned. Attachment 30 further includes outer housing or cover 36 formed of resilient material, said housing being preferably of rubber or other resilient material, said housing having a cylindrical portion 31 surrounding the outlet portion 32, and a protecting or housing portion 38 surrounding the suction inlet portion 35. Said protecting or housing portion 38 includes bead or buffer portion 39 extending beyond the outer edge of flange portion 34 thereby acting as a resilient buffer in event said attachment engages highly finished surfaces or furniture, or other fixtures while attachment 30 is in use. Buffer portion 39 includes a reinforcing'wire or member 40, preferably molded therein for allocating resilient housing 30 with respect to the metal housing 3I. Resilient housing 36 may be cemented to metal housing 3|, or may be frictionally secured thereto by interlocking the bead portion 39 with the metal housing 3| and suitable rivets 4I may be employed for additionally securing said housing together.

Referring to Fig. 7 showing a modified form of air and dust outlet portion for use on vacuum cleaner attachments shown in Figs. l to 5 inclusive, said outlet comprises metal sleeve portion 52 of enlarged form, also resilient cylindrical portion 53 formed of resilient material preferably molded onto the sleeve portion 52 and interlocked therewith said resilient portion 53 extending downwardly within sleeve portion 52 a sufcient distance to form a female coupling portion for receiving the male coupling portion of tube 5I. Sleeve portion 52 is formed with apertures 54 through which the molded resilient material extends for further locking resilient portion 53 onto sleeve portion 52, the resilient material within said aperture acting to lock the outer portion 55 and inner portion 56 of resilient member 53 together and thereby prevent circular movement thereof as extension 5I is twisted into coupling portion or outlet 50 for the coupling thereto. Flange 58 formed on sleeve portion 52 also acts toprevent axial movement of cylindrical portion 53, said flange portion being interlocked in bead portion 51 of said cylindricalportion 53.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9 showing still another modiiied form of air and dust outlet portion for said vacuum cleaner attachment, said outlet is similar to the outlet described in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3 `however sleeve BI is formed spacedly from the coupling end of the being employed for the trated and described should `62, and is also locked against axial movement by enlarged annular portion ofmetal sleeve 9|. Referring to Fig. 10 metal extension tube 5I is assumed to have oppositely facing tapered male y ends for frictionally receiving the attachments as I or 30. Extending over the exterior surface of said `tube is a resilient covering 5Ia, said covering extending spacedlybetween the ends thereof a sufilcient distance whereby the coupling portions of said tube are free to be coupled. Said resilient covering is preferably formed with a bead at each end thereof for the purpose of artistically mating with the bead, as for example 57 of the outlet portion 50, said bears being preferably of the same diameter. Said resilient covering 5Ia is preferably cemented to extension tube 5I, however may be frictionally secured thereto, or may be secured by suitable interlocking devices, as for example rivets.

form of fabricated nozzle frame 10, said frame comprises metal loop or slot shaped member 72, preferably of-wire to which are attached one end of connecting members 'I2-'I2 and 'I3--13 Welded or otherwise secured thereto, the other end ofl said members being preferably welded to vsuction inlet collar or annular member 1I.

Whereas the air and dirt outlet portions 3 and 4 are shownl as being butt welded together, one of said members may have ange portions overlapping said other member for spot Welding or otherwise securing said parts together, or said portions 3 and 4 may be made as a single stamping.\

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the applicant has furnished novel and peculiar forms of attachment and outlet and inlet portions thereof and novel and peculiar extension tubes which are ynovelly coupled to said attachment for forming aY vacuum cleaner assembly which maybe employed for the cleaning of rugs, draperies orV other surfaces without the danger of marring or blemishing highly finished surfaces of furniture or other structure should said assembly accidentally engage said highly iinished surfaces while said assembly is cleaning of said rugs,

draperies, etc.

Applicants novel structure not only avoids marring or blemishing as described thereby saving the expense of repairing said marring .or blemishes butv also has the advantage of relieving an operator of undue strain in attempting to avoid said highly finished surfaces during the operation of vacuum cleaning.

It is to be understood that extension attachment 5I may have both male ends or male and female ends, the female ends being formed in the peculiar manner disclosed hereinbefore.

'Ihe vacuum cleaner attachments above illusbe construed as-typical and not as limiting the invention, the scope of which is dened in 'the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid support having a suction inlet portion including Referring to Fig. 11, showing a modified Y lso w tending downwardly in said suction outlet open-v a suction inlet for engaging a surface tobe cleaned and an annular suction outlet portion including an inner coupling face' for engaging a correlated removable attachment, a housing formed of plastic resilient material in which said support is embedded, and a coupling portion on said resilient housing having a coupling face forming a continuation of said inner coupling face on said-outlet portion for also engaging said correlated attachment when inserted into said vacuum cleaner attachment.

2. In a vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid metal support having a suction inlet nozzle portion including a suction inlet opening for engaging a surface to be cleaned, a suction outlet coupling portion on said support having a suction outlet opening for communication with a correlated removable attachment, saidinlet and outlet portions being fixed with respectto one another, and a housing formed of plastic resilient material in which said support is' embedded extending between said inlet and outlet openings including a portion extending downwardly into the opening of said suction outlet coupling portion.

3. In a vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid support having-a suction inlet nozzle portion including a suction inlet opening for engaging surfaces to be cleaned, a suction outlet coupling portion on said support having a suction outlet opening for communication with a rem'ovable correlated attachment, and a housing formed of plastic resilient material in which said support' is embedded extending between said inlet and outlet openings, the portion of said housing adjacent said inlet opening being spaced therefrom whereby said support will engage said surfaces, and the housing portion adjacent said suction outlet opening extending downwardly within said opening for engaging said correlated attachment when inserted into said vacuum cleaner attachment.

4. In a vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid support comprising a suction outlet coupling portion having a suction outlet opening and a suction inlet nozzle portion including a suction inlet opening, and a resilient housing formed of 'plastic material in which said support is embedded, said housing having. a suction outlet portion surrounding said support coupling portion and extending downwardly within the opening-therein and a suction inlet portion terminating spacedly from the suction inlet opening in said support nozzle portion and a female coupling face on the portion of said housing exing for engaging a male coupling face on a correlated attachment.

5. In a vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid support comprising an annular coupling structure for attachment with a correlated removable attachment and a slotted nozzle structure rigidly connected together by a flaring skeleton structure, and a resilient housing formed of plastic material in which said support is embedded comprising an annular portion including a suction outlet opening surrounding said coupling structure, a slotted nozzle portion including a suction inlet opening surrounding said nozzle structure and interlocked therewith, and a hollow flaring portion connecting said coupling and nozzle portions for forming a vsuction'tight chamber between said openings.

6. In a vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid metal support comprising a suction inlet nozzle structure having a suction end face surrounding a suction opening for engaging a surface to be cleaned, a suction outlet coupling structure including an outlet opening for receiving a correlated attachment and an intermediate skeleton structure rigidly connecting said nozzle and coupling structures, and a resilient housing formed of plastic material in which said support is embedded comprisingan orificed nozzle portion surrounding said nozzle structure, an oriiiced coupling surrounding said coupling structure and a hollow housing portion connecting said nozzle and coupling portions for forming a suction tight chamber between the orifices of. said nozzle and coupling portions, said suction end face extendl ing beyond said oriiiced nozzle portion oi said resilient housing.

. 7. In a Vacuum cleaner attachment, a rigid skeleton support comprising a rigid annular coupling member having a suction outlet opening adapted to be removably' attached to a correlated attachment, a rigid nozzle member having a slot shaped opening and a plurality of spaced rigid re-enforcing members rigidly connecting said coupling and nozzle members in spaced relation, and a resilient housing formed of plastic material in which said support is embedded comprising an oriflced coupling portion surrounding said coupling member,'a nozzle portion having a slot shaped orifice surrounding said nozzle member and a hollow housing portion connecting said coupling and nozzle portions and surrounding said re-enforcing members for forming a suction tight chamber between the openings of said support.

. OSCAR A. ROSS. 

